Progression Through the Lost
by Univerce
Summary: It's a sequel! Nintai and her four FEMALE friends found their way back, and it's time for some awesome kickstarts. Join the entire crew, plus a new face later on, as they deal with yet another assassination plot... unfortunately for them, they're charge isn't the cooperative Sayori or Hatsuhime.
1. Portal!

Falling over and staying down, Nintai's latest opponent is unconscious and most likely won't be waking up for the next few hours. Like several others before him, the man on the ground is picked up and carried off to a medical personnel. Breathing heavily, she stands braced and agitated. Since returning to her time, Nintai has found herself building up anger and frustration more than usual.

Earlier in the week, she'd done something completely unlike her. She snapped at her history club president and stormed off from their club room. Sayori had come after her, of course, but the two could find no reason for her to have yelled the way she had.

The president had found something of interest, per usual, and decided the club would be going to investigate. It wasn't anything particularly unusual; the club president does this a lot. But her reaction was. Several classmates were worried the next day when she came back for another club meeting; they wanted to decide about the 'interesting thing' their president had found.

As a result, Nintai has been training furiously with some of her father's new coworkers. They're all decently skilled in martial arts, particularly judo, but she's still overpowering all of them. It's rather sad when their builds and training are considered; they're all in peak physical condition and well-versed in their martial arts studies. Some of them are actually masters and have taken to teaching the others in their offices.

Why is this not strange? A bunch of men learning how to fight against whatever comes at them is by no means abnormal here. Especially since 'here' refers to a dojo built in the basement of a police station. The place isn't far from where Nintai lives and it's a shorter distance than her daily walk to school. As a matter of fact, it's one ten minute detour off her usual route to a new home.

That's right. Nintai's father has become a police officer. And the pay he's getting is great; he got a new house and moved his daughter into it, cancelling the rent for her old apartment. Plus, with access to a number of databases about criminal records and past prosecutions, he's gotten quite a bit of info about his sister's activities while locked away.

Over the last few years she's been murmuring to herself about a demon hiding in an angel. Classic crazy talk. In response, the guards had her locked up in a nice solitary confinement cell. This didn't help much when the screaming started. Every word of her screams was about the dark corners of her room and the eyes that were watching her from them. Not the most assuring thing for other solitary confinement inmates to hear. With no other choice, excluding the obvious of whacking the psychotic over the head with a bat, she was transferred to a mental facility.

They next thing that was recorded was the date of her escape from the mental institution. According to the report, she'd been hording her pills and when she finally had enough she showed them to her doctor. The man had freaked and locked the room as he ran out to get some staff. When they came back her window was broken and the alarm that was supposed to go off had been disabled.

The doctor had been punished through suspension when they found his pen at the building's base, ruined from being taken apart to open the alarm case and stab the wires. He's still working there, but the facility has employed a new policy similar to the buddy system… or rather, they started a new buddy system policy. Newspapers decided to be lenient on the doctor and his place of employment by hiding the embarrassing policy behind a number of sophisticated words.

Nonetheless, Nintai's father knows everything about the last few years of his sister's life. He also knows that she was by no means insane. He believes that she planned that entire thing out and went to the mental institution on purpose. Once there, she let the people believe the medicine was mellowing her 'psychotic' behavior.

Speaking of the father…

"Nintai?" he mutters quietly as he walks into the dojo, changed into his training uniform. "What the hell?"

She looks at her father, annoyance clear in her eyes. He gives her a blank stare, feigning innocence to anything she might blame him for in the next few minutes. The next man to speak walks over to him and whispers in his ear. Okay, so speak may have been the wrong word. Oh well.

After nodding to the man Nintai's father beckons to her and she follows him, obediently and grudgingly. In the hallway, he turns on her.

"Would you stop with the random violence!?"

Nintai stares at her father with a bored look on her face. She'd heard this speech a few times already, and so far, it hasn't worked. All she gets out of it is that the past isn't the present and she needed to readapt to home.

After nodding that she understands, even though she really doesn't, the two walk back into the dojo area and she watches everyone else train from the sidelines. The grumpiness she feels shows on her face and the men avoid her to let her think.

* * *

Jin feels depressed. And not just, 'aw man! I lost my quarter!' depressed. More like a 'Crap! I spent all my money on poker!' depressed. His friends have been travelling with him for the better part of a month and are already sick of listening to his sighs.

Once Nintai had jumped from the tower and returned safely, albeit in the arms of what should have been an enemy, Sayori had gained everyone's attention at the behest of a returned green pendant. She then went on to explain exactly who she was and why she was here. And a rather familiar voice rang out from said green pendant. Hatsuhime had been in a hibernative state within the pendant itself, much like a certain tactician.

Along with Hatsuhime, Harumoto had awoken with no memories of his actions, easily explained by a female voice coming from the blue pendant that had laid around his neck since he fell. This girl immediately requested to be relocated to Nintai's neck before completely explaining what had happened. Once placed next to the physical girl's pillow, the one within the pendant started her explanation.

"Possession?" Bo had questioned. "By a demon?"

"More or less," Hantai had confirmed.

After revealing who she was, why she was trapped within the pendant, and why Harumoto had been trapped, the girl had continued onto the existence of the four girls.

"They'll have to go back soon," she stated.

"Eh!?" Jin had immediately reacted with shock and anger. "Why the hell do they have to do that!?"

"Because that's where they belong," finalized a ninja with silver hair. "Keeping them here will only cause more trouble, for them and for us."

The blue pendant's glow seemed somewhat sad at the time, but the girl within ceased any further speech with anyone outside the group of girls. And so, with a great sadness, everyone said their goodbyes. Excluding Nintai and Kasumimaru.

Unfortunately for them, Nintai had remained unconscious the entire time after she'd jumped from the tower. As far as the bodyguards knew, she still is. Until they see her again, there's no telling.

"I really want to see her," Jin sighs for the fifteenth time in an hour.

"Oh, shut it! C'mon, Jin!" Yo yells at him. "Get up and be stupid and cheery again!"

"I'm not stupid!" Although he tries to counter, it's rather deflated and without true conviction.

"Leave him alone, Yo," Bo chides. "He can't help himself." Bo sighs quietly, annoyed that he caught Jin's depression. "I wonder if those girls are alright."

Yo drops to the ground, facing away from his friends and mumbling about their laziness lately. It's true, though. Jin can't help it and Bo caught the depression. Yo's been slightly affected by it as well, although he hasn't really noticed it. Every time he sees a girl with bright colored hair, Nintai comes to mind. And almost every time he sees any other girl, it's Sayori.

* * *

Muneshige stands in the gardens of the Mochizuki clan's castle, feeding birds with seed from the bag he's holding. A little ways away, Hatsuhime is doing the same.

"I hope their alright. I didn't get to thank them properly."

Muneshige smiles a little. The princess had mellowed a little after returning, no doubt due to a sense of loss and anxiety over the disappearance of three girls and the soul of a fourth. Yahei had been happy about that, but her father felt her pain as well. He, too, wanted to thank these girls wholeheartedly for saving his daughter from a possessed Harumoto.

"Princess!"

Speaking of Harumoto. The man with purple hair is holding a scroll and breathing heavily, sweat covering his face. Lifting the scroll for her to see, he smiles in triumph.

"I found it!"

On the roof of that particular area of the castle, a ninja hear Harumoto's exclamations and rushes off to his leader. Kasumimaru should be pleased to hear that Harumoto's finally succeeded in what the clan's head had asked of him. The likelihood that everyone would see each other soon has risen a great deal.

* * *

Ittosai stares at the monk intensely, trying his hardest to best the man in arm wrestling. Despite his thin limbs, the blonde has a great deal of strength and is holding his own with the muscular priest.

On the other side of the table, Mon-Mon is trying his hardest, his face contorted out of annoyance and effort. Considering how toned his muscles are, it's kind of sad that he can't gain any ground. Possibly even sadder that he's lost a little in the last five minutes of this.

All around them men cheer, bets placed with names on scraps of paper sitting on a table nearby. The restaurant is getting great business from this, and all the profits from the gambling is keeping Mon-Mon and Ittosai from having to pay for the two broken tables and their meal. Lucky them. Now all they need is a girl to make them stop.

* * *

"Well, Nintai? How was it?"

Nami is holding a towel and drying Nintai's hair as the girl sitting before her stares at the wall mirror grumpily. Since Nintai returned to the estate with her attitude, everyone's been avoiding her. Everyone, that is, except her female friends.

Now, the estate isn't modernized, per say. It's got all the plumbing and electricity and whatnot, but it still has that castle feel. Tatami mats cover the majority of the floors, excluding bathroom and kitchen, and the hallways and walkways are all wood planks. A few doors, mostly those belonging to bedrooms, have locks on them, but even those are sliding like the rest of the place.

"How was what?"

Nintai runs her toes across the flooring, enjoying the feel. It's relaxing to her.

"You mean he didn't ask you?" she speaks incredulously. "Your dad said he was finally get the truth about ninja boy from you! I can't believe he lost his nerve again." She stresses the final word.

Nintai chuckles as she feels the towel being removed from her hair. She takes a long look at herself. The light purple hair that resembles that of a lotus blossom's color has grown a few inches of the summer break and fall semester of school. Now stopping at the middle of her neck, it hangs lazily with waves.

"I need another haircut."

"No way!" The exclamation comes with a very familiar voice as Nintai checks her bedroom door to see Sayori. "Your hair looks amazing that way! There is no chance in hell that I'm letting you cut it!"

Nintai smiles ironically. Before their journey to the past, Sayori was so mild. Seeing all the bloodshed and rage and danger for herself toughened her up. Especially after a few weeks of being home had passed. She just started jumping right up in front of the history club officers and telling them to get a backbone against the president. It was rather hilarious, the way the club president stared at her. Complete disbelief.

"She's right, Nintai!" Lee pops out from behind Sayori with a cheery voice. "Our hair is at a great length! Think about Kasumimaru would say."

Nintai's eye started twitching. It does that every time someone says his name. And it's not that she hates the man; quite the contrary, in fact. More like she just doesn't like being reminded of her heart's failure to let it go. She's caught herself daydreaming multiple times. Even doodling him as a cute chibi from time to time.

Lee smiles teasingly, not caring about the annoyance on her friends face. Sayori lightly slaps her on the back of the head, knowing how Nintai feels and sympathizing with her. Every time she hears 'Jin' is a new heartbreak for her. She absently fiddles with the green pedant around her neck at the thought of the red-headed teenager.

Nami chuckles to herself. She's well aware that she was the only person to not take an interest in anyone on the other side of time. In her head, she imagines Lee and Ittosai as they watch a small, blonde newborn sleep. The sight is refreshing and hilarious. But the smile she puts on Ittosai seems a bit farfetched to her.

"Anyways," Nintai calls to the three of them. "We're still missing Rin. Where is she?"

"Right here!" Her shout from the open window scares the entire group inside the building.

Sayori is the first to recover. "What? No Jinnai today?"

"Nah. Brother just doesn't get it," she whines. "I mean, c'mon! Yo was adorable! I've been fantasizing about him since I got back!"

Nintai smiles warmly. Nami comments in her head again about how she was the only one who didn't fall for someone.

"Girls! Girls!"

Nintai flinches at the sound of her father's voice. It's excited, which is almost always a bad thing for her. Her father slide across the floor in the hallway and stops just outside the door to her room. Sayori and Lee stare at him blankly; Rin yawns as she fold her arms on the window sill and rests her head on them.

"…I kind of expected Lee to be on the other side of the window," he whispers to himself.

"I heard that!"

"Anyways! I found something I think will fix your pendant problem."

A blue glow grows from Nintai's chest. There, a blue pendant lazily connects to the outside world. From it emerges a gather of blue dust that shapes itself into a girl with piercing amethyst eyes.

"Hey! Your eyes changed again!" Nami points with something like childish joy at the girl's eyes.

Every time she appears, her eye color has changed. This time they've taken the sheen of an amethyst. Last time had been emeralds. The time before that had been topaz. With every change, a new color of a gemstone, as if a precious stone is the very essence of her existence.

"It looks good," Nintai comments.

"Hey! Big news here!"

Hantai looks to Nintai's father. "What is it, ji?"

A little put out by the nickname, as usual, Nintai's father continues. "The excavation of that castle unearthed a sealed box left in the courtyard."

"Excavation? The one of the lake?" Rin asks.

He nods assent and holds out a scroll. "Almost like they wanted it to be found, too. Thought your kids might be interested."

Nintai stares at the scroll with trepidation. She has a feeling on what it is, and although she'd love to take a look at it, she's worried about letting her hopes get to high. Stuck in indecision, Nintai stares at the scroll at a loss. Instead, Lee takes the initiative.

"Just open it!"

With the scroll in hand, she takes the edge of the paper and flicks, causing it to unroll all the way to Nintai, a good six feet. She then stares at the scroll's contents. The entire thing depicts a ritual using seals, candles, and precious stones. What the ritual is for, though, only Hantai, whose floating there, reading, would be able to say. It's not like the others can read what the iffy handwriting says. Lee figures a monkey wrote it.

"It's a recharge ritual," she mutters with wide eyes. "It was just sitting the courtyard?"

"Yup."

Nintai stares at the scroll. "Let's get started, then." With a smile, Nintai gets up from her seat. "I do believe there are quite a few people who want to see us."

* * *

"Do what?" Bo stares at the princess in complete disbelief.

"You mean, if we do this, we can visit them!?" Yo is jumping for joy.

Hatsuhime nods enthusiastically. "Of course, you're only going to get them. And only one person can do that."

Jin pricks his ears at that. "Only one? Why?"

"Because the portal won't be big enough for any more," Mon-Mon says as he looks over the scroll with Harumoto.

"This is going to be the problematic part." Harumoto points out something in the document.

The tactician has been pouring over resources for weeks trying to find a way grant his princess's wish. In the process he's learned quite a bit about rituals and the religious affiliations with them, along with common ties. Working rituals tends to deal with symbols and equipment often condemned alongside demons and monsters. But in all actuality, these implements and signs are in no way harmful to people, just related to the summoning and taming of a demon.

"It may be dangerous," Mon-Mon says cheerily, "but we'll have no problem with spatial tearing! So! Who's diving headfirst into the future?"

Ittosai stares at the muscular monk as if he's stupid. "It should be someone like you, idiot. Honestly, aren't you supposed to be a Buddhist priest?"

"Ittosai's actually right," Bo sighs. "As much as any of us would like to go, you're the only person with even remotely holy abilities. If something goes wrong, you should be able to fix it." His tone is rather sad. Truth be told, he wants to be the one to see where the girls came from.

"Wrong!" Hatsuhime cheers. "I'm going!"

"Eh!?" is the collective response.

* * *

Staring at the crudely drawn circle in front of her, Nintai looks to Hantai for assurance. The floating girl nods her blue-tinted head in a 'go ahead' gesture. She then disappears back into the blue pendant around Nintai's neck. Sighing to herself, Nintai checks the circle traced into the dirt with the drawing in the scroll.

"Alright. Anyone have any ideas how to start this?"

All the girls look from one to the next. Nintai's father had been asked to go get a few essential things from around the house. Mostly last minute stuff, like favorite snacks or coping mechanisms. Lee forget to putt her teddy bear in her backpack.

Every girl standing around the circle pulls a backpack from the floor and grins happily. If this works, everyone should be happy for a while. Nintai fantasizes for a moment about what she'll say to Kasumimaru the second she sees him. Meanwhile, Sayori is thinking about how happy she'll be to tackle Jin to the ground. Ahhh, love. The dumbest but most pure emotion.

"Alrighty then." Nintai's father walks into the back yard, making a loud thud. "First things first: Lee's teddy." With a smile on his face, he tosses her the bear from a box he'd just dropped on the ground. "There's Nami's first aid kits," he drones with a toss of a large case. "Rin's candy supply. Covered!" Three bags get handed to the girl next to him.

"Sayori, of course, wanted to make sure she had something for 'Jin,' whoever the hell that is, but I'm afraid there isn't really anything in the house for him, short of this blade sharpening stone. It's a bit heavy; be careful." With a toss, the block lands in Sayori's hands, nearly knocking her over.

"And, naturally, my little girl told me to shut up and get going. You sure you aren't missing anything?"

Nintai looks at her dad with annoyance. "I'm a grown woman, thank you."

"Not really," Lee starts.

"Shut it, Lee."

"Shutting it."

"If I am forgetting anything," she says with a smile, "I'm sure I can probably live without it."

He dad smiles sadly. "Yeah. Sounds like you two," he mutters to himself.

"What?"

He shakes his head and looks at the circle. With one last check to make sure everyone had everything, and a last run inside to grab Sayori her tennis shoes, the group was ready. Incidentally the boys would not be joining them, considering both of them immediately denied any idea of having a romance with a guy from the past. Nintai had shrugged and said it was their loss.

Pulling a gemstone from his pocket, Nintai's father walks to the center of the circle. Placing said gemstone down in the middle of the symbols and seals, he quickly gets away as it starts to glow.

"Don't forget! This is agate! You have a second one, right?"

Nintai and Nami both nod. They're taking a spare, just in case. The portal open wide, waiting to admit the five girls with smiles on their faces. However, the past doesn't like waiting. Only open for a second, the spits out a girl in a kimono. Her long hair flows behind her as she's sent up into the air and falls back down onto the man standing away from the portal. With a loud crash and a few moans, the two of them get up.

"Isn't that…"

"It is."

Rin and Lee move to help Hatsuhime as she climbs to her feet, muttering and cursing her bad luck.

"You alright?" Rin asks with a chuckle.

With one look, Hatsuhime jumps with glee, cheering 'It worked! It worked!' over and over again. A quick catch up on the plan of attack for getting through the portal and the girls are all holding hands in a circle, smiling broadly at the knowledge that it had, in fact, worked.

Nintai looks past the girls on the other side of the portal at her father. A smile on his face tells her he's expecting her back, and she most certainly intends to deliver. They're still not on the best of terms by any means, but they're at least fixing their issues, bit by bit. There's no way Nintai could give that up easily.

Taking a collective deep breath, they all count to three and jump.

* * *

Screaming in delight is great. That's why people ride roller coasters. It's the thrill that attracts them every time. And this attraction never fails to bring people in from miles away just for this one ride. A single go gets them begging for more simply because they survived it. Plus, they survived it with a smile on their faces.

Well, it's a lot like that. The entire group, including Hatsuhime falls through this portal, seeing the other side within moments, and gets that roller coaster feeling as they shoot up from the portal and fall back down to the ground. They make sure to let go of each other so they don't accidentally fall back through.

The majority of the girls are caught by or land on someone. In Lee's case, it's the latter, and the blonde nearby isn't too lucky in this aspect. The princess, of course, is caught by Muneshige, who'd been ready to do so when she left. Mon-Mon catches Nami as she falls headfirst towards him. She's saved only because he's got a long reach and is caught by the shoulders.

Jin, naturally, jumps back to save the girl he'd been waiting for. The second Sayori sees the red-head's face, she buries hers in his chest, sobbing with joy and relief. In turn he laughs and holds her tightly.

Rin's barely saved by Yo, who goes complete ninja and jumps up onto the roof just to keep her from crashing into it. Rather lucky she's small enough for him to catch. Although she feels a little sick after the altitude change.

Nintai is the only exception. Doing a backflip, she lands lithely on her feet, just like a cat. Standing back up, she stretches her limbs to make sure nothing is damaged and double-checks her bag on her back. It's still there and, as far as she can tell, unharmed. Satisfied with herself, Nintai lets her eyes wander around, noticing that every girl that's landed is flirting, arguing or happily hugging the guy she's been daydreaming about for the last six months.

The portal itself is closed, a pile of dust in the center where a gemstone no doubt used to be. Which reminds Nintai to check her pocket for the agate stone that her father had gone out to get one each for her and Nami. Feeling the smooth surface of the stone, she relaxes and watches her friends, letting a smile play across her lips.

"It's good to have you back," Bo says as he walks towards her.

"Good to be back," she replies happily.

"Quite the smile, miss!" Yo calls from the roof, waving happily.

Rin sits next to him, enjoying her bird's eye view of the garden. Taking one last quick look around, Nintai marks the pairings off. Although Nami didn't necessarily fall for anyone, it's rather obvious that she's getting along with Mon-Mon rather well. Lee is arguing with Ittosai and insulting him to add to any injury she's caused, so that's covered. Sayori is still on the ground with Jin, happy enough that she probably doesn't want to move.

A familiar figure stands off to the side on the walk way. Purple hair, glasses, and a stupid tactician smirk. Harumoto watches the entire spectacle with satisfaction. Another man appears next to him, staring in disbelief at the entirety of the gathering.

"Who's that," Nintai asks Bo.

He looks over to the walkway. "That would be Hatsuhime's father."

"Her father, huh?" Nintai stares at the man for a moment as he watches the spectacle.

In all honesty, he's wide-eyed and a little lost on who they are, although it's clear that his daughter cares for all of them. The smile on Hatsuhime's face is proof enough for that. Nintai turns her attention from a princess to a ninja behind her.

"Something you'd like?"

The ninja, lacking a mask, smiles genuinely. "Just making sure you got here. Catch."

She turns just in time to grab hold of a tossed persimmon. Smiling at the ninja, she takes a bite out of it with joy. "Give me about an hour, kay?"

The ninja bows and disappears. Bo looks at her with confusion.

"Rather strange. They never pop up like that."

Nintai looks at him in disinterest. She's well aware of why he had no mask on. "They trust me. That's all."

Turning back to the group, Nintai calls for everyone's attention and explains how things are going to work. First off is protection details. Everyone needs to pair up to make sure no one gets hurt or injured by any side effects of the portal. The girls, she announces, are the ones who get to pick.

"I call Jin!" Sayori volunteers.

The redhead smiles brightly at her. Nami opts for self-protection, but much to her dismay, Nintai tells her to pick between Bo and Mon-Mon. Rin and Yo chat happily on the roof about the next few days and the many pranks they're going to fit into it. The group below wonders how exactly they got so close when this is only the second meeting and the first had only been for about an hour. Lee calls Ittosai next, although he sure doesn't seem pleased about it and immediately demands a reassignment.

"No," is the simple answer Nintai gives him.

"Wha-"

"Shut up and deal with it, Blondie." Lee smiles triumphantly next to him.

"I think I'll go with Bo," Nami chuckles. "Pervert over here may need a few days before he can protect you."

Nintai smiles as she watches Mon-Mon in a fetal position. Not wanting to know what Nami did, she shakes her head at the former babysitter.

"He's not protecting me. I've got someone else in mind."

Lee and Nami give each other meaningful glances. The others, however, stare blankly at the girl with no protector. A smile on her face, she dismisses everyone and tells them to have fun while she's gone. It doesn't even take much effort to run away from the question about to poop out of Jin's mouth; a dash towards the garden wall, one high jump and she's gone.

"Oh, leave her alone!" Lee yells at Jin as he calls after her. "She needs some alone time with him!"

The entire group looks at her with questioning gazes. But she doesn't elaborate. Instead, she asks Ittosai how his back has been since she landed on it. With a bright red face, he immediately starts countering and the two are left alone to bicker. Everyone else walks towards the castle and a large room where they enjoy a party to celebrate the girls' return. Only Yo and Rin are left out of the drinking; they just look too young.

* * *

Nintai walks along the road through town. About a half-mile ahead of her is the town limit where the area turns from building into fields and a little further on a forest. Every rice field is empty, the harvest having ended successfully and the town behind her in an uproar of a festival. With a smile on her face, Nintai keeps walking out the town gate and down the main road, dodging traffic while keeping her pace.

Taking a look off to her left, she sees a familiar ninja with long silver hair leaning against a tree just inside the forest. Her smile grows as she watches him move deeper into the greenery.

"He just can't say hi in public, can he?"

Moving a few more steps, she jumps off the road on the left side, barely avoiding a messenger on horse. Staring at the passersby for a moment, Nintai realizes just how much easier travel is back home. She shrugs off the thought and heads for the tree line, trying to spot that persimmon tree she'd climbed last time. It takes her a couple minutes, but she finds the same tree, carved in the bark with an 'X.'

"X marks the spot? What is this? A treasure hunt?"

She looks up to see the ninja eating a fruit as he stares off into space. Shaking her head at the horrible joke, she jumps and grabs hold of a branch. Once she pulls herself up into the tree's leaves, the climb is easy, and she's soon level with the ninja.

He tosses another fruit her as she leans back against the tree trunk. Snatching it from the air, she takes a large bite and enjoys the flavor.

"Almost as good as the last one."

He glances at her for a moment, but returns to his daydreaming. With a few minutes of staring, Nintai realizes he doesn't actually intend to talk about anything. Happy with that, she leans back and keeps eating her fruit. In her head, she's comparing it to the first persimmon she'd pulled from the tree. For some reason, this one tastes a lot better, though it's no riper than the other.

Sitting in the tree and staring off, the two pass the time quietly and without a care as the sun moves across the sky and sets. Nintai isn't even aware that she falls asleep shortly after the sky starts turning orange.


	2. Spacing Off

Nintai wakes up to a wood plank ceiling the next morning. Rolling over, she sees a few persimmon on a plate nearby and smiles softly. She reaches out and grabs hold of one, taking a rather large bit out of it.

"Don't eat it too fast."

She bolts up in bed, noticing her clothes have changed to her cherry pajamas. Sitting up against the wall is Kasumimaru, a kind smile on his face. Turning a slight pink, Nintai swallows what's in her mouth and smiles back, a little self-conscious.

"Eating too many of those can make you sick," he says, getting up from his spot and moving closer. He drops down next to her and takes the fruit from her hand. "You need to eat them a little more slowly."

Without a care, he takes a bite from the fruit. Nintai turns a bright red, realizing that he did it very much on purpose. What's worse is that he's pretending he didn't. A soft smile on his face, he holds the fruit back out to her. Nintai drops her head as it turns a deeper red. In her mind, she's slapping herself for not taking it from him.

A light chuckle brings her eyes back to Kasumimaru, who'd gotten a lot closer when she wasn't looking. Feeling his breath on her lips, her chest constricts a little painfully, but by no means is it unenjoyable. It's very soft, but only for a second.

"Wake up! It's morning!"

Nintai bolts up in a futon. Nearby are a few persimmon on a plate. Just next to her is an annoyed Lee. Coming to the conclusion on what just happened, Nintai turns a deep shade of red and pulls her blanket over her head. _He carried me again, didn't he?_ Then the thought that she is indeed wearing her cherry pajamas occurs to her. _Did he change me, too!?_ Her face turns an even deeper red as her body burns from embarrassment.

"No! No more sleeping! Get up and get dressed, Cherry!"

"Ane?" Sayori opens the sliding door, a plate with a few other fruits on it in her hand. "Good! You're awake," she says happily. "Hurry up! We all made plans to go to the hot springs today!"

Nintai removes the blanket from her head and stares at Sayori. "Hot springs?"

"Yeah!" Lee cheers. "Sayori was talking about how good of aim you'd had when you threw rocks at the boys for peeking at you in the bath last night. That got the rest of us girls interested, so we're going on a field trip!"

Nintai smiles, her face still bright red as the memory of the last visit she'd had to the hot spring plays in her mind. She can still hear the water moving around while the ninja had been rinsing off whoever's blood was on him. _Waahh! Why now!? Bad thought, bad thought!_ It just won't go away.

Ignoring the thought, she shoos the two girls out of the room and starts to change, eating the persimmon that had been nearby as she does. Her faces is still tinged pink when she leaves the room with the last fruit from the plate. _He changed me… ugh…_

* * *

The trip is short and uneventful. Short because the castle had supplied a few horses. Uneventful because there was nothing after them this time. Sayori and Jin are chatting happily while their horse climbs the steep path. Bo had Nami riding with him, although the girl could easily be doing what Nintai is.

While the samurai and not so skilled girls ride on horseback, Nintai, Lee, Rin and Yo are moving the trees, racing to the waters at the end of the path. It's rather funny because Rin had decided to start practicing after hearing a story about the adventures from Nintai. The first reaction the others had when they saw the efforts of her training was astonishment, then excitement. Now Rin is using it to her completely advantage.

"C'mon, Yo! You're an actual ninja. You should be beating me!" her laughter as she calls back to the green haired boy is contagious.

"Ease up, Rin!" Lee laughs just behind her.

Yo, even further behind, is bright red as he struggles to keep up.

Nintai, leisurely moving through the branches, can't help but chuckle as she keeps pace with Lee. Although Rin has made tremendous progress, the urgency Nintai had felt when chasing down the ninja squads had instilled a different type of speed and endurance in her; just the way she was named, she'll keep the leisurely pace all day.

The blue pendant around her neck shines as it always has, reflecting blue spots into the greenery. Inside it, Hantai watches the scene with a genuine grin. The girls found a nice place where they can finally relax without the threat of a psychotic… well, maybe that's not true. Without the threat of a delusional aunt around every possible corner. That's more like it.

Lee lands on a branch and looks down the path. The ninja-like runners have gained a considerable lead on the others. In front is Ittosai, trying to avoid contact with those behind him. Having a wonderful epiphany, Lee stops Yo just before he goes by her.

"I'm gonna wait for the others to catch up," she says with mischief.

He looks back for a second at the group on horseback. Yo smiles at her and nods with understanding. Then he rushes off to catch up to the other two. When he does, he lets Nintai in on the game. The girl grins like an idiot at the thought and stops on a branch, looking back to see the others still riding up the slope. Yo stops just ahead of her and looks back as well. Ittosai's still unaware and in the lead. Rin notices her friends stopped behind her and turns to watch as well, a little lost.

After about five minutes of waiting, the three in the trees watch as Lee falls from the tree screaming 'Ninja attack!' at the top of her lungs. They burst into laughter as she lands on Ittosai's back and scares him witless, barely dodging an elbow as he swings his arm at her. The next thing they see is him spurring his horse into full gallop after the girl as she races through the trees.

"Run, you idiots!"

And they do, laughing the entire way up the slope while Ittosai screams abuse at the lot of them. A great deal of it he'll regret later. Those behind him are laughing as well, spurring their own horses forward.

Reaching the hot spring, the girls escape Ittosai easily on the other side of the rocky divide. Yo isn't so lucky, but he's agile enough to avoid any damage. Listening to the nonsense on the other side as everyone else catches up, Nintai, Lee, and Rin area already stripping as they laugh about the prank.

"Better than the first time!" Lee exclaims in triumph.

"I wish I'd been here then," Rin sulks.

"Heh heh. Don't let it go to your head, Lee. Ittosai's gonna get back at you!"

Lee grins happily with two thumbs up. She'll be waiting for it. Rin giggles as she thinks about the prank she and Yo have planned for the group when they go to sleep later. Hatsuhime had wanted the max amount of time to enjoy the springs, so the group was just going to spend the night at the cave like last time.

Nintai's mind wanders as she slides into the steaming waters of the spring. "I just hope the ninja don't steal my clothes again."

Lee and Rin chuckle as they place all the clothes, folded and hiding the more personal pieces within, next to Nintai's. Sayori, Hatsuhime and Nami soon join them, splashing the water at those already in the springs as they climb in. It eventually turns into a comparison contest, with Nami winning.

"Of course you win! You're the oldest one of all of us! If anything, you should be using the measurements from when you were in high school!" Lee is whining and complaining, sparking an argument over the fairness of the ruling.

"Oh, honestly," Nintai sighs.

The other four moves a little further away from them, trying to ignore the noise as they talk about something else. They eventually fall quiet to listen to the other side of the springs, wondering about the boys.

Speaking of which. The event is occurring again. Guess adding to the number of girls just makes it all the more irresistible.

"Mon-Mon! Stop that! Remember last time?"

"Seriously! You just have a death wish!"

The whispering is evident, and the spiky hair is easy to see in the steam. Nintai rolls her eyes and looks to Nami a little ways away. The two had stopped arguing and are just sitting deflated at the edge. The girls smiles happily and picks up a random rock from the edge. Weighing it in her hand, she chucks it over. Not exactly the best of aim, but she at least hits her target.

The girls break out into laughter as they hear a loud splash and feel the water around them ripple. After another moment, they hear Mon-Mon surfacing and gasping for air. The entire group of boys on the other side start the 'I told you so's and the girls laugh even harder. Screw the guys enjoying this trip; the girls are the ones making the most of it.

Those on the other side of the dividing rocks are staring at Mon-Mon with apathy; Ittosai is actually chuckling maliciously. While everyone ignores him, the monk touches his tender shoulder as it lightly bleeds.

"That really hurt. I think she's gotten stronger."

"No surprise there, you perv," Yo comments. "I could barely keep up with them."

* * *

The other girls have gotten dressed and are staring at Nintai in worry. She doesn't want to get out yet, so she'd told them to go on without her, but…

"No way! You said it yourself; we need to be on the lookout for side effects of the portal." Nami is in full swing, only held in check by Lee as she laughs it off.

"Oh, please! You know nothing would dare affect Nintai! She's too B-A for it!"

Sayori and Rin agree, placing Nami at a disadvantage. Smiling at her friends, Nintai shoos them off to the boys. This time, there's no screaming. The best guess she can come up with is that Jin is either still in the water or got out early to completely dress himself. Sighing in contentment, Nintai leans against the rock wall of the spring. The water really is relaxing.

"Enjoying yourself?"

"Huh?"

Nintai looks around to see the pendant glowing a bright blue. She smiles peacefully. "Yes, I am. Sorry you can't join me," she says sadly.

"It's fine," Hantai laughs. "I don't particularly care for baths, so perpetual cleanliness is great in my book."

Nintai chuckles at the thought. True, never having to bathe would be a great thing, and it would save her a lot of time, but every once in a while, a nice, long, hot bath is good. And she's enjoying hers right now. When she'd gotten in, she could feel the stress from six months of worry melting away.

"So, 'ko.' How was the conversation with ninja boy?"

"Oh, don't even. You were there!"

The pendant glows sadly. "Yeah, and it made me wish I had a body. But hey, gotta sacrifice something for perpetual hygiene, right? Anyways."

"Something up? You don't usually stay inside the pendant when you talk anymore."

"That's because there's always people around," she whines. "I don't like creating a form in the physical world. It feels creepy to not have clothes on. Kinda like the people around me are seeing everything even if I was wearing some."

"TMI, Hantai. TMI."

"Oh, whatever. Anyways, I only do it so people aren't staring at your chest when I'm talking. You're a bit-"

"Stop! I get it," Nintai rushes.

Their laughter echoes through the trees and the two chat about the greenery around them, along with the time schedule of a portal. According to Hantai's calculations, so long as the others head back on time, Nintai wouldn't have to worry. With the pendant around her neck, Nintai would be immune to the effects of slipping through the portal.

"What are the effects?" Nintai asks with worry.

"The usual. Hallucinations, mood-swings, a possible snap of patience."

"Okay. I'll make sure to let everyone know to keep an eye out for that stuff."

"Good," Hantai says happily. "Well, that's all I've got for you right now. Enjoy your bath!"

And the glow disappears, making the blue stone in the pendant darken. Nintai stays in the waters for another hour, half-expecting Kasumimaru to pop up for some reason. Well, it had happened last time. _Yeah. Last time._ Shaking the thought from her head, she gets out and redresses. If she keeps the others waiting on her, Ittosai at least would be ready to slice her in two.

* * *

Sitting around a campfire, the entire group listens to the real story on how Nintai, Lee and Nami had stopped the ninja. It came to happen because Rin had decided to ask for a retelling of the entire event. Although Ittosai was ticked about it, and Muneshige was a little peeved for not seeing the lie, everyone took it with good stride. The girls had their reasons, after all.

"And in the end, Nintai fell for a ninja!"

A shoe flies over the fire and slams Lee in the head. "Shut it!"

That was one part of the story that was never supposed to be told.

"A ninja, huh?" Yo leans towards her. "Which one? Was it the guy with the scar?"

Nintai slaps him upside the head and he backs off, pouting. Rin is immediately there with a hug to make him feel better. The actual effect, though, is a bright pink boy. It's rather cute and sends everyone into fits of laughter. Again, Nintai has avoided the topic of who she'd fallen for. Sure, she wouldn't be able to avoid it for much longer, but for now.

"Well, as much fun as this is," Ittosai mutters, "I'm going to bed. Don't even know why I came."

"Because you have a crush on Lee?" Nami's innocent smile annoys Ittosai to no end, and the comment turns him red from rage.

But since he can't do anything, Ittosai gets up and storms into the cave they're all in front of. Bo chuckles at the sight and looks at Lee, who smiles in victory and gives Nami a high-five. The girl has been toying with him all day, and the only reason he hasn't gotten back at her yet is the lotus-haired girl nearby.

With everyone listening to another story from Lee, Bo tugs on Nintai's sleeve and motions to the cave. They both get up and move inside. There, Bo taps Ittosai with his foot to get him to join.

"What?"

"Just get up," Nintai sighs.

The three sit in a circle and Bo asks his question. "You realize your friend is tormenting our beloved psychopath, right?"

Ittosai's eyebrow twitches. "Excuse me?"

"Oh, please," Nintai scoffs. "It's true and you know it. And yes, I'm well aware she's tormenting him. I believe Nami's a little closer than she thinks she is."

Bo smiles in agreement but Ittosai laughs it off. "Right! That little girl definitely likes me," he says sarcastically.

"Oh, Ittosai. You know nothing about dating, do you?"

The blonde glares at her over his glasses. Obviously not. In response, Nintai goes into detail on how her time's dating system works. By the time she's done, Bo is trying to keep himself from laughing at Ittosai's reaction; paled and like he's going to be sick.

"Awww. Too much for the little boy?" Nintai smiles at the blonde.

He turns around and lay back down, ignoring them. Bo clears his throat, still trying to hold back the laughter, and keeps going.

"What about Rin?"

"Same thing. And Sayori's crazy for Jin. Honestly, I think they would've enjoyed a bath together."

They both hear a muffled laugh from Ittosai and watch his shoulders shake for a moment. "Bone-headed girl."

Nintai rolls her eyes and continues. "Nami's pretty much the only one of us who hasn't got a crush on someone. So if you're looking for a date, Bo, I'd go with her."

Bo raises his eyebrows and smiles. "Oh, I'm not too sure that's what I was after." His smile worries Nintai as she realizes her mistake; she had failed to exclude herself from the group. "So who would you happen to have a thing for?"

Ittosai rolls over, his interest piqued. "Yes, little girl. Who did you get whipped with?" The sadistic smile on his face annoys her, but she forces the feeling down.

"Last I checked, Blondie, that's NTK." Bo stares at her, confused. "Need to know."

She then gets up and move back outside to join those around the fire, where Jin and Muneshige are doing karaoke, somehow.

* * *

Nintai opens her eyes. Just like last time, everyone else is fast asleep. With no need to fear any pursuit or danger, they didn't set up a watch through the night. Instead, Ittosai had been designated for the front of the cave, in case something he could slash should wander in. He had happily accepted the post.

Stretching her limbs, Nintai gets up from her spot and sneaks out of the cave, barely avoiding waking Ittosai as he snores softly. He seems a lot more defenseless in his sleep than he should. Out in the morning air, Nintai breathes deeply, debating grabbing one more bath in the hot spring. It's very unlikely that everyone will wake up any time soon, as dawn has about an hour before it starts.

With a shrug at the thought, she begins the trek back up the slopes to the spring. After being outsmarted with the topic of her love life, she could use the morale boost. Bo's just too smart for her to not be fully aware around.

Seeing the steam through the trees, Nintai picks up the pace and climbs over the crest of the path. She then turns a bright red.

"You," he whispers when he turns to her.

Kasumimaru is sitting on the edge of the spring, topless and soaking his legs in the water. Assessing her for a moment, he gives a quick smile before turning back to the spring. Bright side, at least he's not _completely_ naked. That's the only thing keeping her nose from bleeding.

Dropping her sight, she thinks about how repetitive this trip has been. She shakes her head vigorously, regretting it instantly as the liquids swish around in her skull. Nintai takes one deep breath and moves toward the spring. This she doesn't regret, at least, not subconsciously.

Without a shirt on, Kasumimaru's entire torso is exposed for her viewing pleasure. Whether he realizes this or not, though, is another story. Forcing her courage through, Nintai pulls off her socks and shoes and dips her own legs in the water. The relaxing heat drowns her anxiety and gives her non-synthetic courage.

"So. Whacha doing?"

She turns and smiles at the ninja next to her. He stares at her blankly. _Ugh… I think I did something wrong._

"Weren't you going to take a bath?" he asks.

Jumping at the sound of his voice, Nintai suddenly remembers why she'd come up the slope to begin with. Her cheeks tinge a slight pink as she nods slowly. _Why do you know that?_ Common sense points out the baths their feet are in, and she accepts the reasoning easily. Seriously, she should listen to her instincts a little more closely.

She does her best to keep her heart calm, although a topless man next to her isn't exactly an assisting factor. Barely keeping her body at normal functioning levels, Nintai stares off at the water. Hopefully the distraction of some random fantasy will calm her. It's a good idea, admittedly, but can easily backfire.

Case in point: Instead of thinking about ponies and butterflies, Nintai's mind creates a nice dark room. There, she quietly tries to sleep on nothing when the sound of a door gains her attention. Opening her eyes, she sees the shadow of someone in a shrinking rectangle of light as the door closes.

The next thing she's aware of are two hands skimming along her side. She shifts onto her back to get a look at the person touching her. Hovering over her is a man with silver hair, different colored eyes, and a scar on the left side of his face. In her eyes, he's breathtaking. Her eyes locked with his, she feels her body overheating as his face gets closer and closer to hers.

"What's wrong?"

"Eh?"

Nintai jumps at the voice next to her. She hadn't even noticed Kasumimaru getting closer to her. What's more, she hadn't noticed him peering into her face as she stared off. The next thought she has is on how bright red she probably is.

"What's with you?" he asks seriously. "I don't remember you being this responsive before."

Nintai smiles weakly. _Responsive? Really?_ In all honestly, she's not quite sure what's wrong with her herself. She's hoping that there isn't some random side effect that Hantai hasn't told her about.

"Hey. Are you listening?"

"Wha? Oh, sorry! I'm just spacing off!"

Kasumimaru assesses her critically. "Maybe…"

She feels his hands on her cheek and side and is swallowed by the warm waters of the spring. The memory of her dream reflects in her head as something soft presses against her lips and she closes her eyes.

"Wake up, stupid!"

Her eyes fly open as Nami shakes her. She can feel the sweat on her forehead and the sensation on her mouth. Her face a bright red, the feeling of a hand registers as Lee checks her forehead. Shaking the hands away, Nintai sits up easily. The others immediately try to push her back down.

"Hey, wait a minute!"

"I'm fine," she sighs, knocking the hands away once more and glancing to her side.

She immediately jumps when her eyes catch the sight of a bunch of persimmons sitting on a cloth on the ground nearby. _Don't tell me…_ With a hunch filed away in her head, she reaches for one and takes a close look at it. Ripened completely and picked at its peak. Her hunch confirmed, she smiles softly and rubs the dust off the skin. The others stare at her in confusion as she eats the fruit happily.

* * *

"I don't get it," Yo whimpers.

"What don't you get?"

Bo sighs as Jin and Yo chatter aimlessly about Nintai's wakeup call this morning.

"She was just fine on the way here. Yet suddenly she's sulky and no fun."

All three of the boys look up ahead, where Nintai walks quietly. Since she'd woken up, her head has been full of ninjas and water. The entire thing annoys her greatly, but she's having trouble changing her train of thought right now. There's nothing here to keep her occupied, which she hadn't even considered a problem when she'd prepared to come back. If anything, she'd thought it a blessing.

With a small sigh, she trudges forward, her face still tinged pink from the thoughts in her head since morning. Her wakeup call hadn't helped with it at all. If anything, it only made it worse; her heads been coming up with ideas about how the dream ended, and they're all rather graphic. _How do I even know about this stuff!?_ Sex-ed comes to mind.

Staring off once more, Nintai doesn't even notice the strange stares she's been getting from the others the entire time. All she notices is the weight in her hand from a persimmon. Absently, she raises it to her lips and takes a bite.

"Maybe we should try a tournament or something…" Lee's idea sticks into one head, but the others immediately deny it.

"Aw, why not?" Ittosai smirks. "I think it'd be a bloody fun day."

"Of course you do, psycho," Yo mutters from the back of Mon-Mon's horse.

Rin, walking alongside, covers her mouth as her shoulders shake.

* * *

"Is she still spacing off?" Nami whispers to Lee.

Lee nods as she watches her friend on the walkways. For the last week, Nintai has been staring off into space. Everyone's worried sick. They can't tell if it's just because of a crush or if it's because of jumping through the portal.

"She needs a kickstart. Maybe a-"

"No," Nami says simply.

"Oh come on! A tournament could help!"

Sighing, Nami turns and walks away. Lee chases after her, leaving Nintai to continue not noticing anything except the passing of clouds. She really could use a kickstart right now.

* * *

It's sunset and the gang, minus one spaced Nintai, has made a decision. The first thing they have to do is get the plan they have set up. With this in mind, Sayori and Jin are on lookout, their eyes glued to Nintai while the rest of the group runs around the castle. Well, not everyone. Ittosai is snoozing in one random garden, uninterested in the events.

While the two around the corner watch her quietly, Nintai stares into the gravel of the rock garden. The trees seem just as off as she does and the blooming flowers' colors are dulled like her eyes. In an observer's eyes, she's depressed and maybe even a little ill. But the girl staring off knows better; she just can't stop thinking about the dreams she's had.

It's only been the two, but both times she's sure Kasumimaru had been there while she slept. How he had gotten past Ittosai the second time, she doesn't bother to wonder about. What she does wonder about is how he'd gotten past her. Well, since he's not really a danger, it sort of makes sense. Plus, if he had meant her harm, he would've done something when they were alone and sitting in that tree. Why wait until she's surrounded by her friends?

Sayori hears a tapping and looks down the hall into the castle. At the other end is Lee giving a thumbs up. Everything's set. Grinning like idiots, Sayori and Jin start moving towards the spaced off girl.

"Ane!"

"Huh?" Nintai looks up from the gravel of the garden to a bouncing Sayori. "What's up, Imōto?"

Sayori bounds up to the girl and grabs her arm. "Time to go!"

Nintai stares at her blankly as she's pulled to her feet and towards a grinning Jin. Together, the three start to traverse the castle. Nintai, still somewhat spaced, has a rather bad feeling about what's going to happen next.

In the next three minutes, a total of four things happen. The main hall, where the majority of the group, excluding the three walking the halls and the uninterested Ittosai, experiences a sudden collapse. The floors shatter into hundreds of pieces and those standing on them fall to the dirt beneath.

The next thing to happen is a group of ninja, very strangely dressed in white, attempt to deal with Ittosai. Not the brightest move, true, but they still attempted it. The psychotic killer remains unharmed, except for a few small cuts from lucky shots.

Jin and Sayori are both knocked to the ground when Nintai turns the corner ahead of them, hitting the ground with a loud thud and gaining the girl's attention. Even though they're not dead, Sayori take severe damage to her left ribs. Jin, being both a boy and a trained fighter, takes less damage, but is still in too much pain to move.

And finally, when the other three events occur, a tower made of mortar builds itself from the ground up, attempting to reach the heavens.


End file.
